first performance: November 9 2006 at the ''Imaging Environment'' conference, Stanford University ( http://shc.stanford.edu/events/ImagingEnvSchedule.htm)

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first performance:

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A Concert of Music on Ecology and the Environment, CCRMA, November 9 2006 at the ''Imaging Environment'' conference, Stanford University

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http://shc.stanford.edu/events/ImagingEnvSchedule.htm

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Jonathan Berger

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Program notes:

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Jiyeh (2006)

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Program notes:

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Jonathan Berger

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Jiyeh is a small coastal town in Lebanon built upon the ancient city of

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Jiyeh is a small coastal town in Lebanon built upon the ancient city of Porphyreon,

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Porphyreon, reputed to be the site where a giant fish delivered Jonah to the shore.

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reputed to be the site where a giant fish delivered Jonah to the shore.

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On July 14th 2006 a coastal power station in Jiyeh was attacked in an Israeli air strike

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causing over 20,000 tons of oil to spill into the Mediterranean Sea. Although there has

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been relatively little information regarding the ecological impact of this massive spill a

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series of sattelite photos show the dispersion pattern of the oil. These patterns appear

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as Baroque-like ornaments that distort the contour of the Lebanese coast line.

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On July 14th 2006 a coastal power station in Jiyeh was attacked in an

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I was in Jerusalem in July 2006 and read a fleeting and innocuous news report regarding

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Israeli air strike

+

an oil spill on the Lebanese coast apparently caused by an air or ship based missile

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causing over 20,000 tons of oil to spill into the Mediterranean Sea.

+

attack on an aging power plant in Jiyeh. Little information was forthcoming although the

-

Although there has

+

estimates of the amount of oil spilled were alarming.

-

been relatively little information regarding the ecological impact of this

+

In September I asked Jeff Koseff if he had any information about the spill. He replied

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maassive spill a

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that, to his knowledge, there were only sattelite photographs and that those were yet to

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series of sattelite photos show the dispersion pattern of the oil. These

+

be carefully analyzed. Tonight's work, the first of a set of two pieces (this for multi-

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patterns appear

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channel playback and a second for solo violin, percussion and string orchestra), uses

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as Baroque-like ornaments that distort the contour of the Lebanese coast

+

data from the sattelite photographs to set parameters for synthesis and processing of

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line. The

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sounds, as well as creating source audio material using a raster scan direct synthesis

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music represents the evolution of these patterns and providing an auditory

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method bing developed by my PhD student Woon Seung Yeo.

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display of

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The music represents the evolution of the ornate oil patterns visible in the sattelite

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the enormity of this disaster.

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images to evoke auditory display of this disaster.

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Program bio:

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Jonathan Berger is a composer and researcher. Berger's research includes

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developing

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methods and tools for effective auditory display of complex data. His

+

-

recent recording

+

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of chamber music for strings will be released this Spring by Naxos

+

-

recordings on their

+

-

American Masters series.

+

+

Jonathan Berger is a composer and researcher at CCRMA. His compositions include

+

chamber, symphonic and vocal music as well as works incorporating digital synthesis

+

and processing. His research includes developing methods and tools for effective

+

auditory display of complex data.

+

Berger's recent recording of chamber music for strings will be released this Spring by

+

Naxos recordings on their American Masters series.

Background:

Background:

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I was in Jerusalem in July 2006 and read a fleeting and innocuous news report regarding an oil spill on the Lebanese coast apparently caused by an air or ship based missile attack on an aging power plant in Jiyeh. Little information was fothcoming although the estimates of the amount of oil spilled were alarming.

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----

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Details and examples of the sonification methods used.

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In September I asked Jeff Koseff if he had any information about the spill. He replied that, to his knowledge, there were only sattelite photographs and that those were yet to be carefully analyzed. In the subsequent weeks and months photographs of polluted shore lines have been posted along with sattelite imagery of the spill.

The piece (the first of a set of two pieces, this one for multi-channel playback and a second for solo violin, percussion and string orchestra) uses data from the sattelite photographs to set parameters for synthesis and processing of sounds, as well as creating source audio material using a raster scan direct synthesis method bing developed by PhD candidate Woon Seung Yeo.

+

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Details of the sonification methods and edxamples will be posted below. A rough cut of the work is linked (beware: it's large).

The satellite images were processed and denoised in order to focus on the edges of the coast and of the spill. Examples:

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[http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/j1.wav] - July 19

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[http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/j2.wav] - July 23

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[http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/j3.wav] - August 1

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[http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/j4.wav] - August 8

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These sounds were processed using filter settings, temporal stretching and other signal processing methods in which the parameters were all set by measurements of the spill contour in relation to the coastline.

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The dimensions and shape of the spill shown in each sattelite image is represented in the following ways:

The width of the spill at each sampled location is sonified by setting filter bandwidth (measured south to north each 25 pixels) at each sample position.

The width of the spill at each sampled location is sonified by setting filter bandwidth (measured south to north each 25 pixels) at each sample position.

Coastal shape as well as the western edges of the spill in each image. are mapped to melodic pitch.

Coastal shape as well as the western edges of the spill in each image. are mapped to melodic pitch.

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A fair amount of 'artistic license' was then applied.

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Considerable 'artistic license' was then enjpyed.

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here's a rough cut of the piece : http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/jiyeh-first-draft.aif

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----

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Stereo mix-down of 8-channel piece: (beware: it's large!).

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http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~brg/jiyeh-stereo.aif

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Please note this audio file is not for public presentation and may not be copied or distributed.

http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png

http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License and ASCAP

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License and ASCAP

Jiyeh is a small coastal town in Lebanon built upon the ancient city of Porphyreon,
reputed to be the site where a giant fish delivered Jonah to the shore.
On July 14th 2006 a coastal power station in Jiyeh was attacked in an Israeli air strike
causing over 20,000 tons of oil to spill into the Mediterranean Sea. Although there has
been relatively little information regarding the ecological impact of this massive spill a
series of sattelite photos show the dispersion pattern of the oil. These patterns appear
as Baroque-like ornaments that distort the contour of the Lebanese coast line.

I was in Jerusalem in July 2006 and read a fleeting and innocuous news report regarding
an oil spill on the Lebanese coast apparently caused by an air or ship based missile
attack on an aging power plant in Jiyeh. Little information was forthcoming although the
estimates of the amount of oil spilled were alarming.
In September I asked Jeff Koseff if he had any information about the spill. He replied
that, to his knowledge, there were only sattelite photographs and that those were yet to
be carefully analyzed. Tonight's work, the first of a set of two pieces (this for multi-
channel playback and a second for solo violin, percussion and string orchestra), uses
data from the sattelite photographs to set parameters for synthesis and processing of
sounds, as well as creating source audio material using a raster scan direct synthesis
method bing developed by my PhD student Woon Seung Yeo.
The music represents the evolution of the ornate oil patterns visible in the sattelite
images to evoke auditory display of this disaster.

Jonathan Berger is a composer and researcher at CCRMA. His compositions include
chamber, symphonic and vocal music as well as works incorporating digital synthesis
and processing. His research includes developing methods and tools for effective
auditory display of complex data.
Berger's recent recording of chamber music for strings will be released this Spring by
Naxos recordings on their American Masters series.
Background:

The satellite images were processed and denoised in order to focus on the edges of the coast and of the spill. Examples:
[1] - July 19
[2] - July 23
[3] - August 1
[4] - August 8

These sounds were processed using filter settings, temporal stretching and other signal processing methods in which the parameters were all set by measurements of the spill contour in relation to the coastline.

The width of the spill at each sampled location is sonified by setting filter bandwidth (measured south to north each 25 pixels) at each sample position.
Coastal shape as well as the western edges of the spill in each image. are mapped to melodic pitch.